Events - Special Workshop Trondheim 2005, About
August 9, 2005 - Trondheim, Norway
(The role of innovation in) Meeting the new market demands
About
This workshop was held immediately after the main Aquaculture Europe 2005 conference in the afternoon of 9th August at the Trondheim Spektrum Centre, the venue for the AquaNor aquaculture trade exhibition which opened the same day. It was organised by the European Aquaculture Society within the EC supported research and demonstration project CSN-INTRAN (Creating Supporting Network for International Transfer of Innovative Technologies in European Aquaculture), which has formed “The Aquaculture Innovation Network”.
The workshop was co-chaired by John Bostock from the Institute of Aquaculture, University of Stirling, UK (CSN-INTRAN project coordinator), and László Váradi (partner from Aquapark Association, Hungary), and had a theme of “The role of innovation in meeting the new market demands”. It attracted 33 participants from 13 different countries (a further 24 people pre-registered but did not attend).
In opening the workshop, John Bostock offered a number of definitions of innovation, ranging from the very simple (“the act of introducing something new”) to the more complex definition used in the EC Innovation scoreboard 2004 (“The renewal and enlargement of the range of products and services and the associated markets; the establishment of new methods of production, supply and distribution; the introduction of changes in management, work organisation, and the working conditions and skills of the workforce”). He suggested that the external environment is always changing and the challenge to all types of organisations is how to continually adapt to stay on the leading edge and not the trailing edge of change. This calls for organisations that are adaptable and ready to grasp new opportunities, and that are able to develop strategic partnerships that extend the capabilities and competence of each organisation involved.
During his introduction, John Bostock also reported on the Innovation Forum event, which was held as a session within Aquaculture Europe 2005 on 6th August. This had introduced two further EC supported project. Firstly, FISh (Facilitating Innovation for Sustainable Fisheries and Marine Resources). This has 12 partners in 12 countries from Iceland to Turkey, and is seeking to promote technology adoption and RTD initiatives in the fisheries and marine food production sectors. Its key activities are to visit SMEs to perform technology audits, and benchmark best practices. Secondly, the Innovation Relay Centres – Fish Technology Thematic Group (IRC FTTG). This is a sub-network within the IRC structure. Its primary role is in communicating offers and requests for new technologies between countries and sectors. It is also organising matchmaking events and assisting companies to make contacts and enter new markets. The CSN-INTRAN project has 13 partners and is particularly focusing on encouraging innovatory processes and the specific transfer of technologies to the New Member States of the European Union.
In the first presentation, John Dallimore (TNC Partners EEIG, Germany) talked about the “Changing consumer demands”, setting the scene for some of the challenges and opportunities that face the European aquaculture industry. Perhaps the greatest impact has been the fall in prices associated with rapid expansion of production in species such as salmon, sea bass and sea bream. This had resulted in many company failures and take-overs in the search for economies of scale and efficiency. However, consumer concerns over quality and issues such as food safety, welfare and environmental sustainability are also of increasing importance, with scope for differentiation and the development of new niche products.
Following on from this presentation, Aleksander Hansen (SINTEF Fisheries & Aquaculture, Norway).spoke about “Market readiness for innovation”. This was focused more on the business to business opportunities within the aquaculture sector, especially for suppliers of equipment, feeds, therapeutants and other services to fish farmers. He reviewed the status of aquaculture in Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland and Estonia and highlighted some of the opportunities and technology transfer identified by the CSN-INTRAN project during a study visit to each market in 2004. Some of the barriers to innovation were also discussed, such as language, lack of access to capital, unsupportive institutions and in some cases, a lack of entrepreneurial vision. However, he was also able to highlight a number of successes, such as Aller Aqua, a Danish company that has invested in feed distribution and now also production in Poland, backed up with regular farmer training workshops and other imported supplies. The Polish processing companies Polfish and Pommern fish are also examples of successful collaborations between Germany and Poland.
László Váradi (Aquapark Association, Hungary) explored some of these issues more deeply in his presentation on “Innovation as a learning process”. In particular he discussed the ways in which innovation can be stimulated and supported within organisations, through a focus on improved awareness and capability, developed through different types of (mostly non-formal) learning. In reviewing the situation in Eastern Europe, and particularly Hungary through a SWOT analysis, he highlighted the gap that often exists between the outlook and priorities of producers and researchers. He suggested that sector progress and adaptability could be significantly enhanced through better collaboration between these groups.
In the final presentation of the afternoon, John Bostock discussed some of the tools that are being developed as part of the CSN-INTRAN project, in particular the Aquainnovation web site, which attempts to support partnering and collaboration through various forum and matchmaking tools, and learning through a knowledge base and on-line learning modules. The project is also running a series of training events based around workshops and visits.
The workshop concluded with a wide-ranging discussion among the participants concerning barriers and support for innovation, and in particular the role of the industry suppliers in helping to drive technical developments and improvements. This led to further consideration of the balance that needs to be found between competition and collaboration, as too much fragmentation, especially in the equipment supply sector reduces the scope for investment in research and new product development.
In thanking both speakers and participants for their valuable contributions, John Bostock closed the meeting with a reminder that the presentations would be made available through the Aquainnovation web site, where participants were also welcome to use the forums both for continued debate and professional and commercial partnering (www.aquainnovation.net).
